Intermediate sanctions include programs like halfway houses and day programs. The sanctions are court ordered for people who have been convicted of some criminal offense. The reasoning behind the sanctions are that these individuals need a certain amount of supervision. The opinion of the court is that incarceration in prison is not needed but regular probation is not a sufficient amount of supervision.

Whether or not theses sanctions meet the needs of the community probably depends upon the community itself. Some towns and municipalities may argue that the sanctions are effective in supervising this population of convicts. Other people in different locations argue that the sanctions are nothing more than a glorified baby sitting service. A goal of these types of sanctions is to reduce the prison population and thus reduce the cost of the administration of justice. Many communities have successfully accomplished this goal.